Tulane Green Wave Looks To Seize Momentum Kicking Off Offseason Workouts

Tulane Green Wave football begins their offseason workouts in an important push for success next season with new leaders and faces under Jon Sumrall.
Credit: Tulane Athletics
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Despite not reaching their goals in their first year under head coach Jon Sumrall, the Tulane Green Wave came close enough to light a fire and leave a chip on the shoulder of the players.

The Tulane football team kicked off their offseason workouts on Monday, initiating the building blocks for a foundation to make a run in the 2025 season.

On the evening prior to Day 1 of workouts, Sumrall gathered the team of returnees and newcomers for an inspirational meeting.

He emphasized that nothing in this world is given without putting in the necessary work, that great teams happen in January and the nine months prior to kickoff. The team is in the build-up stage to becoming great.

It highlighted one of Sumrall's best traits as a college football coach — the ability to motivate his players.

A noticeable change in the Green Wave's implementation of Sumrall's philosophy and culture was the application of a weekly theme to each individual opponent. That contrasted with the mentality under Willie Fritz's 1-0.

The phrase had importance in the 2022 season that ended in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl victory. A 2-10 team from 2021 was suddenly brimming with success and potential, and it kept them grounded and focused.

Eventually, it seemed to devalue the individuality and process applied to each opponent on the schedule. Perhaps, simply, it just grew stale.

It also offered little solace when adversity hit in the middle of a football game. Under Sumrall, there's a universal team response that follows hardships: Good. Although it may succumb to the same pitfalls as the 1-0 monotony, Sumrall's approach is more nuanced.

Every week had its own theme and mantra, and every meeting felt like a thoughtfully crafted personalized message.

Motivation is as successful as the consequent action that follows. For Tulane, that's their effort and focus in offseason training. It's the first glimpse for the coaching staff of how cohesion and chemistry meld new players with the returning core.

Over the last four seasons, the Green Wave had players in all three phases who had been on the team since the 2-10 season, leaving a lasting legacy. Numerous leaders have departed, including but not limited to Tyler Grubbs, Josh Remetich, Caleb Thomas, Rashad Green, Ethan Hudak, Eric Hicks, Patrick Jenkins, and Mario Williams.

Some cornerstone leaders remain, such as Bailey Despanie, Sam Howard, Jack Tchienchou, Shadre Hurst, and Derrick Graham.

The most intriguing quality the team will learn is who among the newcomers has a command and sets a tone.

All the players on the roster are now firmly Sumrall guys, whether recruited directly by him or not. That means they fit the core values of the team and culture as Tulane football enters Phase 1 of the 2025 season.


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Maddy Hudak
MADDY HUDAK

Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com